Fronsac, St Emilion and Montagne St Emilion 2016

Please note that this campaign has now closed. We will leave our prices up for reference only. If you are looking for wines from this or any other Bordeaux vintage, please don't hesitate to call us on 01353 721 999.

We will be updating this page with full tasting notes on the 2016 vintage, written by our Master of Wine, Nicola Arcedeckne-Butler MW over the coming weeks. Prices will be included as wines are released so please keep re-visiting the site for the latest news. To request a wine, simply click on the wine name to send us an e-mail, or for an immediate response, please contact your salesman directly (details below) or call the office on 01353 721 999.

Please note that orders will be confirmed in writing in the form of our invoice.

Pricing: Prices are £ per case of 12 bottles, in bond London, unless otherwise specified. Please note that this includes shipping to the UK and landing in our warehouse but does not include Duty, VAT and onward delivery once the wine is shipped.

Wines offered may be subject to allocation and an offer does not constitute a guarantee of supply. Please let us know which wines you would like to purchase as soon as you can and we will come back to you if we are unable to fulfil your order.

Fronsac

Château Moulin Pey Labrie, Canon-Fronsac 2016
Price in 2015: £145

£

Montagne St Emilion

Dame de Boüard, Montagne St Emilion 2016
not offered in 2015
Second wine of Clos de Boüard, belonging to Coralie de Boüard and Loic Maillet. Vibrant red black not opaque with a nose of delicious almost truffly black fruit, intense and sweet, yet fresh, primary and pure. Delicious and really well done. Drink 2021 - 2028

Château Angélus, 1er Grand Cru Classé A St Emilion 2016 (6 per case)
Price in 2015: £1,340
60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc
Deep purple black but not opaque (small sample), with a nose of fresh, vibrant black fruits, perfumed, really restrained, fresh, with a hint of orange peel behind, leading to a really restrained, tight, fresh, vibrant palate, incredibly balanced and poised, not the Angelus of recent times but more of old, with purity and freshness to the fore, big but entirely supple and integrated tannins, to an incredibly pure finish. Drink 2026-2055

Château Ausone, 1er Grand Cru Classé A, St Emilion 2016 (6 per case)"The 2016 Ausone is a blend of 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Franc picked 10-14 October and 14-19 October, respectively, at 40 hectoliters per hectare. It is matured in 80% new oak with a light toasting, a move that Alain and Pauline Vauthier have made in recent years just to lessen the impact of the oak. There is a palpable...stateliness about the Ausone this year. It is extraordinarily pure and articulates its terroir as well as any vintage that I can remember over the last 20-odd years. It is not as flamboyant as other Saint Emilions, more correct and precise. The palate is very elegant and precise. I adore the exquisite balance of this Ausone, the precision and fineness of the tannin, the effortlessness that it conveys. This is classy and sophisticated, satin-like in texture with a long and sensual finish. Not an Ausone that is going to blaze across the sky, this is a cerebral, intellectual Ausone that will entrance for many years to come." Neal Martin

Château Canon, 1er Grand Cru Classé St Emilion 2016 (6 per case)
Price in 2015: £325
"The 2016 Canon makes it a double slam-dunk for head winemaker Nicolas Audebert and his team, as it is the second of two ethereal wines that will put the estate right at the top of the Saint Emilion tree. This year is a blend of 74% Merlot and 26% Cabernet Franc picked from 22 September until 10 October at 45 hectoliters per hectare. It delivers 14.02% alcohol and an IPT of 65. Matured in 65% new oak, it has a compelling bouquet with intense black cherry and blueberry fruit, a tincture of oyster shell, all with exquisite definition. The palate is medium-bodied with filigree tannin, and again, there is stunning, almost ineffable precision. It is attired in a seamless texture with real density yet weightlessness on the finish. The persistence on the aftertaste is extraordinary. I composed this entire tasting note after spitting out the wine, but I can still feel my mouth tingling now. The 2015 was magnificent, but could this 2016 surpass that? "The 2016 is more Canon in style, more classic," commented Nicolas, and he could be right, although intuition tells me that the 2015 might be a hair's breadth better. I would not refuse either if they were opened before me." Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate

£425

6 per case

sold out

Château Canon la Gaffelière, 1er Grand Cru Classé St Emilion 2016
Price in 2010: £695; price in 2015: £595
Deep vibrant red black, semi-opaque with tight, tarry black fruit on the nose, very intense with some port-like characteristics, leading to a palate of big black and red fruits, sweet, saline, almost too sweet in the mid palate but with just enough structure to keep it together; the tannins are ripe and substantial but not invasive, with a leafy hint behind. Nicely perfumed and structured. Drink 2025-2045

£785

Château le Carré, St Emilion Grand Cru 2016 (6 per case)
not offered in 2010; price in 2015: £495
Deep red black, not opaque, with a nose of soured black fruit – sloes, mulberry too – rich, some spice and very alluring, leading to a palate of creamy black fruits, lighter in the mid palate, spiced and fresh with a long finish. Drink 2023 - 2031

£295

6 per case

Le Carillon de l’Angélus, Grand Cru St Emilion 2016 (6 per case)
Price in 2015: £650
75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc
Dense dark to the rim with a nose of tight savoury black fruit, very slightly soupy, perfumed with a note of hairspray, crunchy too. On the palate big black fruit, ripe, intense, sweet and almost too polished but then the tannins come in, substantial but ripe, rich with good depth and perfumed Cabernet Franc notes behind. Long and rich on the finish as it carries on evolving and broadening. Drink 2023-2040

£435

6 per case

Château Cheval Blanc, Grand Cru Classé A St Emilion 2016 (6 per case)
59.5% Merlot, 37.2% Cabernet Franc, 3.3% Cabernet Sauvignon
Deep red black, semi-opaque, not dense, with a nose of sweet, lightly cooked black fruits, some grilled and savoury notes, slightly soured in a mouth-watering way and liquorice too. On the palate, big black and red fruits, very elegant rather than a blockbuster, with lovely fine racy acidity and red and black fruits. The tannins are really ripe and lie completely behind the creamy black fruit, but there are plenty of them, LONG on the finish. Really lovely wine. Drink 2027-2045

£3,200

6 per case

Clos Cantenac, Grand Cru St Emilion 2016
Price in 2010: £295; price in 2015: £275
100% Merlot
Very perfumed on the nose, reminiscent of Petit Verdot, although this is 100% Merlot, sweet and floral with vibrant, crushed black fruit. Rich on the palate with sweet black fruits, ripe, tarry and spiced with substantial but very supple and well-integrated tannins behind, lifted by a racy acidity to a toasty, rich and long finish. Drink 2024-2036

Le Dragon de Quintus, St Emilion 2016
90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, harvested 3rd-20th October
Deep red black, not opaque with a nose of creamy black fruit, fresh and light, some feral notes too, dark fumey fruit. On the palate, huge black fruit on entry, much more expressive than the nose implied, sweet with slightly bitter back note, rich and tarry with supple tannins and sweet right to the finish – a very good wine, if not particularly complex – fresh yet rich to a long finish. Drink 2020-2028

£285

Château Figeac, 1er Grand Cru Classé St Emilion 2016 (6 per case)
Price in 2015: £550
36% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Franc, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon
Harvesting took place ‘on demand’ between 23rd September and 20th October as and when each plot was ready with some parcels having as many as three tries. 80% of the fruit went into the Grand Vin. The same precision in the vineyard follows through into the wine, which was blended before being put into barrel. Dense black red, right to the rim, opaque, with big black fruits on the nose, some surmaturité notes with a big toast behind, rich with notes of mocha, mulberry, loganberry and forest floor and a distant grilled, creamed note. On the palate, big, rich and creamed black fruits, cedar, dense and mouth-coating, the ripe and supple tannins only coming through on the end. The toast of the wood is a touch intrusive at this stage but there is more than enough fruit to combat this, to a sweet, spiced finish, long, intense and almost smoky. Drink 2026-2056

£925

6 per case

Château Fonbel, Grand Cru St Emilion 2016
not offered in 2015
70% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot and 7% Carmenère
We did not taste Fonbel but Neal Martin says: “It has a pretty cranberry and blackcurrant-scented bouquet, quite transparent and terroir-driven with nicely integrated oak (30% aged in new oak). The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannin, a lively and breezy Saint Emilion, not the most complex you will find but full of personality. The freshness suggests that this will drink early, and that Carmenère just gives it something different."

Château Moulin St Georges, Grand Cru St Emilion 2016
80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, 85% new oak.
We did not taste Moulin St Georges but Neal Martin says: “The palate is medium-bodied with supple, juicy tannin that belies the structure underneath. There is just a touch of tightness here, expected at this nascent juncture, quite linear towards the finish, yet there is good persistence here. On par with the 2015 for sure, although we have to wait and see whether it will be better.”

£285

Clos de l’Oratoire, Grand Cru Classé St Emilion 2016
Price in 2010: £344; price in 2015: £285"The 2016 Clos de l'Oratoire is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc that was picked between 10-17 October and matured in 45% new oak. It has a fresh, perfumed and floral bouquet, with pressed rose petals infusing the red cherry and crushed strawberry fruit. There is a sense of airiness here that I like. The palate is medium-bodied with firm, slightly grainy tannin, hints of tobacco and leather complementing the black fruit with a welcome soupçon of austerity towards the masculine finish. Excellent." Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate

£355

Château Pavie, Grand Cru St Emilion 2016 (6 per case)"The 2016 Pavie is a blend of 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon cropped at 38 hectoliters per hectare between 10 and 20 October. The alcohol this year is 14.55%, and it is matured in 80% new oak and 20% one-year-old wood. As Gérard Perse explained, this is a Pavie that has taken stock and shifted in direction in recent years, reflecting more of its exceptional terroir instead of winemaking. It has a very intense bouquet that is extremely well-defined and shrugs off that higher alcohol level. You can find the graphite vein courtesy of the Cabernet Sauvignon and the underlying tension, while a second bottle had a soupçon more florality. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent, ripe, supple tannins that gently caress the mouth. It feels beguiling and charming, totally different in style compared to say Cheval Blanc, offering a more sensual take on the 2016 growing season. It is a very impressive follow-up to the 2015 Pavie and may surpass it once in bottle. Drink Date 2026-2060"
Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate 98/100

£1,700

6 per case

Château Pavie Macquin, 1er Grand Cru Classé St Emilion 2016“The 2016 Pavie-Macquin is a blend of 82% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon matured in 50% new oak, picked from 7 October (with the young Merlot vines) until 22 October. The pH is 3.35 and it has 14.4% alcohol. I appreciate the intensity of this Pavie-Macquin. This is no shy retiring flower but comes out with cylinders pumping while maintaining the delineation, the detail that you look for. The palate is smooth and sensual on the entry, velvety in texture with plenty of luscious red berry fruit, vanilla and a hint of blueberry. It glides across the palate, the new oak neatly integrated. This is easily my pick of Nicolas Thienpont's 2016s and one of the best Pavie-Macquins that I have tasted at this stage.” Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate

Château Quinault l'Enclos, Grand Cru St Emilion 2016
not offered in 2010 or 2015
68% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon
Vibrant black red, not opaque or particularly dense, with a gorgeous nose of mulberry, some spice, yeasty and rich, almost sweet smelling but incredibly fresh and alluring, hinting at blackcurrant crumble, leading to a palate of smooth black fruit, quite tight and again with strong blackcurrant notes, sweet and intense with some spice and substantial, ripe, supple tannins which are very well integrated, going to a long, ripe, supple finish. Drink 2923-2039

£280

Château Quintus, Grand Cru St Emilion 2016 (6 per case)
70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, harvested 3rd-20th October
Deep purple black, semi-opaque, with a wonderfully perfumed nose of black fruits, sweet and intense, some spice, incense almost, but very restrained too, some alcohol evident on the nose. On the palate, substantial black fruit is to the fore, spiced, restrained, intense, with more apparent tannins than the Dragon de Quintus, rich and concentrated, racy and fresh too, with a long, red and black fruit finish. Not opulent but really long, with grilled back note and a spicy finish. Drink 2024-2040

Château La Serre, Grand Cru St Emilion 201680% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc
Deep red black, semi-opaque and uncharacteristically restrained on the nose at this stage with red and black fruits leading to a broader palate of sweet black and red fruits, spiced, smooth and creamy, with some savoury notes, not as flamboyant as usual and all the more elegant for it, leading to a long, fresh, vibrant finish. Drink 2022-2032

£420

Château le Tertre Roteboeuf, St Emilion Grand Cru 2016 (6 per case)
Price in 2010: £645; price in 2015: £650
80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc
5.7 hectares; harvested on 14th and 18th October
Dense, opaque black red with an incredible nose of sweet black and red fruits, grilled and tarry with new wood, reduced at this stage as the wine had not been racked, but showing a very classic Tertre Roteboeuf nose of prunes, plums and a note of surmaturité leading to a palate of sweet, intense black-skinned fruits – sloes – some violets, spiced and gorgeously rich and velvety with some crème pâtissière and massive tannins behind the fruit, really intense and rich to a grilled, tarry and spiced finish. What a fabulous wine. Wow! Drink 2022-2045

Château Troplong Mondot, 1er Grand Cru Classé St Emilion 2016
Price in 2015: £880
Dense purple black, intense, with a porty nose of dried red fruits, stone fruits, plums, rich and intense with a hint of cedar. Deliciously sweet on the palate, tarry, well over the top but in a brilliant way with fresh red and black fruit, very big tannins and tar but supple and balanced, ripe and fresh, really impressive and inky to a finish of dusty black skinned fruit. Yum! Even if not subtle… Drink 2024-2025

£600

6 per case

Château Valandraud, 1er Grand Cru Classé St Emilion 2016 (6 per case)
not offered in 2010; price in 2015: £565"The 2016 Chateau Valandraud is a blend of 10% Cabernet Franc and 90% Merlot picked between 5 October to 15 October for the last Cabernet Franc, delivering 14.5% alcohol, less than in 2015. It has a very mineral-driven bouquet thanks to the limestone soils (please refer to the January 2017 issue of Wine Advocate where I examine the terroir of Valandraud). The palate is succulent on the entry with fine tannin, crisp and focused with superb definition, a little more finesse than the 2015 last year with a slightly confit-like finish that grips the mouth. It will require five or six years to really mellow and shave off those edges, but this will be a seductive 2016 from Jean-Luc Thunevin." Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate

** Wines offered may be subject to allocation and an offer does not constitute a guarantee of supply. Please let us know which wines you would like to purchase as soon as you can and we will come back to you if we are unable to fulfil your order. Please call us on 01353 721 999 for availability of wines on allocation. The 2016 wines will be shipped in the Spring of 2019.

Larger formats or half bottles may be available for a supplement.
If you would like your wine bottled in a format other than 75cl please request this at the time of order and we will enquire if this is possible with the château. Our supplement for magnums in the 2016 vintage is £10 per case and for half bottles is £15 per case.

E&OE

Please note that orders will be confirmed in writing in the form of our invoice.